The Bagre dam
Source: Ghana|myjoyonline.com|Edwin Appiah|edwin.appiah@myjoyonline.com
It is 2018 and somethings never change. One of them is the spilling of the Bagre dam in Burkina Faso.
The pounding flood waters have been hounding out Ghanaian residents and settlers in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions.
It began in 1999 when during a rainy season up North, the dam could no longer contain anymore beyond its 235m depth.
The result of the spillage – 9,000 Ghanaians became homeless, a Cholera outbreak and $21m required to rehabilitate flood victims.
This year, another spillage marking the 19th anniversary of an artificially created Ghanaian problem has reproduced expected results – fleeing villagers, furious farmers and flattened farms.
‘One and half acres of my 3-acre maize farm have been destroyed’, a farmer told Joy News Upper East regional correspondent.
A few days ago, he just had to walk to his other farm. Now he needs a paddle and a canoe. The farm is gone. Some farmers were forced into a premature harvest as they could not bear to watch the latest replay of the Bagre dam crisis.
Albert Sore reported on Joy News, they returned from the farm to find in less than an hour that a mark they made on the ground had been wiped off by the waters.
“The water is increasing virtually by the minute”, he expressed the alarm of residents.
The government has said it is “monitoring the situation”, a replayed explanation of a flooding crisis.
Two deaths were recorded in 2017. In 2015, five deaths. In 2014, 10 deaths. In 2010, nine fatalities. The loss of livestock, farms, properties each year has not been costed.
Albert Sore reported on Joy News, they returned from the farm to find in less than an hour that a mark they made on the ground had been wiped off by the waters.
“The water is increasing virtually by the minute”, he expressed the alarm of residents.
The government has said it is “monitoring the situation”, a replayed explanation of a flooding crisis.
Two deaths were recorded in 2017. In 2015, five deaths. In 2014, 10 deaths. In 2010, nine fatalities. The loss of livestock, farms, properties each year has not been costed.
The 2015 losses include over 650 hectares of farmlands in Bawku West of the Upper East region. At least 1,200 farmers were affected, some turning sucidal.
In 2007 at least,104 houses collapsed, 13 public schools destroyed. Some 30,000 acres of farm land gone and 24 communities flooded.
The 19-year-old problem is beyond costing.
In August 2007, Ghana government had to declare a state of emergency in three regions – Upper East, Upper West, Northern regions.
Without any notice from Burkinabe authorities, Ghanaians living in these regions bore the brunt of a devastating spillage.
The internet is awash with stories of trauma as communities like Talensi complained about the deleterious effect of the flood waters.
The Bagre dam was built on the White Volta which is part of the of the Volta Basin.
The hydro dam created an artificial lake in Bagre, a village in Burkina Faso and an artificial problem in more than 265 communities in three regions of the north.
The Bagre dam with a 16mw installed capacity is a 10% contribution of power to meet Burkina Faso’s energy needs.
It took three years for Burkina Faso to complete the 67m CFA dam in 1992. It is taking forever for Ghana to recover from the effects of the dam. Ghana’s neighbour has become a nuisance.
The spillage from Bagre makes a 60km journey to enter Ghana at Sapielga village in the Upper East spreading to Bawku West, Talensi, Bunkpurigu communities.
The watery havoc veers down into the Northern region, leaving its mark at West Mamprusi, Savelugu Nanton, Kumbungu, Tolon, Gonja North, Central Gonja and the West Gonja districts.
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